Back to Mirkwood
by Hamfast Gamgee
Summary: Just a one-shot as part of a challenge. Mind, maybe they could use it in the forthcoming Hobbit film?


This is a little extra short chapter of mine set in the Hobbit around Bilbo's time in Laketown if that's not too obvious! This was part of a challenge I wrote long ago, to have an original female character and make her interesting I think it was in 1000 words or under. I have recently edited it and changed the tale slightly, I hope the reviewer that liked the tale still approves of it! Don't be too confused please at my slight attempt at the I, you thing, this is the Hobbit it should have a little of the Narrator in it.

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Back to Mirkwood

A porter in Laketown was bored. Nothing much was happening, nor ever did in his life. He took out some beer, drank some, looking out to the black evening and listening to the pattering rain. Still nothing. But then he heard a sound and a splash. He looked. It was the Hobbit, was about in the night. Bilbo slid, after rather greedily reaching for a barrel of beer on the edge of the town I'm sorry to say, he fell into the Lake and was nearly drowned in the River Running before someone plucked him out of the rushing water.

'Hello, what is here?' said his rescuer, a large round woman. Bilbo was patted awake. The rain continued. 'Let's get some shelter. 'My, you're a peculair little creature. You're not a Dwarf. Despite been, short! Like the furry feet! You are careless. Mind, this is unusually heavy rain we have. Some of this land is flooded, so I can't take you back to Laketown. Oh, my names Beatrice by the way, but most people call me Betty. We're drenched. We'd better change. I have some spare children's clothes in my bag , which should fit you! What's your name?''

'Bilbo,' cautiously replied Bilbo.

But after changing, the two where attacked by large, poisoners, fluttering crows and forced to flee into the wet and muddy country. Bilbo was wearing green shirt with brown trousers. Oh, Betty was 25 dark-haired, but not conventionally beautiful wearing comfortable breaches, jacket and shirt. She was rather plump actually. 'We are on the edge of the Enchanted forest of Mirkwood.'

But that night, as the rain ceased, Bilbo saw some figures through the dark and heard singing. These were woodland Elves and been small he was able to follow them unlike the sleeping Betty, who befriended him and told him a spell about the Reckoner, used to release cursed spirits to peace. Bilbo awoke suddenly. He was surrounded by trees. They'd moved! Surprise! He turned around and saw Betty. But then his feet where surrounded by twigs from the earth, and he was pulled down towards the earth . It was Betty who saved him. She used her axe to free him. But more trees appeared.

But the two found a clearing. Betty stood stoutly with her axe in her hands. The trees where acting oddly, Bilbo thought. They seem to have the eye of the Necromancer upon them. 'Look I have to help here. I am going to to disappear.' Bilbo felt in his trouser pockets looking for his magic ring. He gave a little smug smile, 'What I do is to put on my magic ring!'

'This should be good!' smiled Betty.

'I put on my magic ring...put on my magic ring...put one my magic ring, where is my magic ring, it's not in my pocketsses, I've lost it, no, it must have been when we changed, I have to go back to get it, I must!'

Betty gave him a little pat on his head. 'Look, I know where we changed, we can get it, all right? if you're alive!'

But now twigs where moving remorselessly up towards them. Slowly, but the tangled and leafy flora were covering Bilbo's escape route. Bilbo explained, 'The Necromancer, he's an evil wizard in the south of the forest, is he not? I think he must be controlling these trees, possibly with a spell of some kind, these trees are not acting naturally as far as I can tell.' The Necromancer had a long reach, you see!

'Yes and is one of the strongest powers in the world. But we are hundreds of miles away from his Dark Tower, would he have influence here?'

'I think we can counteract any spell the Necromancer is using to control them. The Reckoner.'

Beatrice laughed, 'You don't know what that is, It's a nursery rhyme they used to tell us as kids.' But she sighed. It was worth a try. Bilbo could she her wrack her memory in an effort to remember the precise words. Though it wasn't clear if all of the precise words were needed to make this particular spell work. Betty clicked her fingers and chanted a spell at the trees in her best commanding voice.

Those whose souls are controlled

by creatures that are yet embroiled

Go and seek the Reckoner

And peace and freedom will beckoner.

But incredibly a voice from the trees replayed

No hewer of wood from man or Dwarf

or spell chanting one of elf

Nothing much happened.

'Well that didn't work. Maybe you could try?'

Bilbo had heard that some magical trees didn't like those that chopped firewood. But he did as suggested, hoping that chopping a few branches, and it was a very few, for fire wouldn't count. Amazingly it worked. Apparently a nature loving Hobbit could chant the words and free the trees from the spell of the Necromancer. 'You are now our Master,' the trees said to Bilbo.

'Well, if you control them, why not make them normal trees?' suggested Betty who was feeling unforgiving.

'No, They weren't themselves. I think I'll just release them to their own ways.' Which was a very wise move. The trees by themselves where wild but not evil. In the following weeks, they did help to fight the forces of evil that were in that country diverting many hundreds of Orcs before the Battle of Five Armies. Well, now Bilbo and Beatrice made their way back to Laketown. Through the still dangerous country were Bilbo put on his ring, just to impress her. They said farewell.

The End


End file.
